Monday, October 9, 2017

Why Did our Relational God Create?

Have you ever asked yourself this profound question?


Certainly not because He lacked anything in Himself. If you question this, go back and repeat an exercise imagining the mutual relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit before Genesis 1:1.

From all eternity, God is relational at His core, neither lonely nor solitary. He lives as Father, Son and Spirit in a rich and abounding relationship of utter oneness. This Family-of-Three exists in perfect cooperation as a deeply intimate, joyfully satisfied, mutually serving, intrinsically good, gloriously creative, outwardly focused, peaceful, pure and powerful relational Community…lacking nothing.
The Father, Son and Spirit were eternally satisfied with their mutually giving, energizing, joy-filled relationship. Each made Himself a pure gift to the Other, giving and receiving co-love. This pulsating love between the Father, Son and Spirit would not permit this supremely good Family-of-Three to keep these riches to Himself. At His core, God yearns to bless by pouring out His life and love. He is a Giver. Such bubbling-over life and love could not be contained!

 

Why did God create?


Love is creative. Life will find a way. Love must multiply itself.
Such passionate Self-Giving launched God’s desire to multiple His other-centered love by “going public.” Before time, they decided to create humanity in an amazing way, man and woman, as much like the Uncreated as a created being could ever be (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 8:5; 2 Peter 1:4). So He fashioned us in His image and likeness as outlets for His extravagant, initiating first-love and overflowing blessings. We receive then pass it along.
“Overflowing with the generosity that comes from the abundance of real love, He creates us to share in the joy of this heroic intimacy” (Brent Curtis and John Eldredge, The Sacred Romance).
The stunning truth is that this Triune God determined to open the circle of this intimate relationship and share His Trinitarian life with those fashioned in His image. God formed the first man from the ground and breathed into him the breath of life with face-to-face intimacy (Genesis 2:7). The Bible calls this life “eternal life,” emphasizing the quality of life more than the length of life. This is the one, eternal reason for the creation of the world and of human life.

 

Why did God create?


Before the creation of the world, the Father, Son and Spirit set their love upon His people. They fashioned us to know and to experience their own Trinitarian life. And when Jesus came to restore relationship, He did not come alone! The Father, Son and Spirit all worked as a divine Partnership-of-Three (Acts 10:37-28; Mark 1:9-11).

One measure of the value of any object is its purchase price. The God who knows everything was acutely aware of the coming defection of mankind at the Fall. Even before He created. What “return on investment” (ROI) could be great enough for God to pay such a very high price to ransom humanity, that is, the death of His unique Son? This unmeasurably high cost of Jesus’ death restores God’s eternal Eden-plan. Jesus joyfully paid this price because He anticipated the results, bringing many sons into the Family of God (Hebrews 12:2; 2:10).

And Jesus’ life and death, resurrection and ascension, will also bring God’s plan to its final consummation. God will never veer from His Eden-intent. He values His Bride so much that He freely, willingly, and joyfully pays such a price to restore intimate relationship with us. Look at the cross. His death defines how very much God loves you!

 

Why did God create?


God delighted to design us and to restore us like Him, unique in all His creation, His image-bearers. God is a lavishly generous Giver. Through us, He has now multiplied channels for His life and love. As we freely receive His life, love and light, we serve others as we freely pass it all along. Out of His free, boundless and energetic love, God found His pleasure in creating us lovable, like Jesus. It’s who He is. He acts. He blesses. God initiates to reproduce because it’s His nature. So now God’s plan multiplies this bursting-forth life and love and light to flood all of creation with His presence through His people. Resting in the Father, Son, and Spirit is our new home from which we participate in His epic adventure faith.

The key question, though, is: “Do you personally believe that this Sovereign God always invites us to respond to His presence and love?” Open arms outstretched toward us is God’s grace-stance, like the Father with the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). Do you really believe this? Then nothing makes any sense in life at all except to yield our lives to Him, lock, stock and barrel…now and forever. And this view of life thrusts us out toward ongoing renewal and change as lifelong life-learners and doers.


See also a website devoted to an incarnational, Trinitarian Christian worldview: JimFredericks.com

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